ItaiOffatManyanhaire1*, Wisdom Kurangwa2 

1Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science and Technology, the Zimbabwe Open University 12th Floor Century Towers, No. 45 Samora Machel Avenue Box Mp1119 Mount Pleasant Harare, Zimbabwe 2Agriculture Management, the Zimbabwe Open University 

Abstract  

This paper estimates the impact of tobacco curing on wood resources in Zimbabwe. The estimation was done using the year 2009 and 2010 tobacco production statistics for small scale farmers obtained from the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB). The total mass of tobacco produced was multiplied by a factor 14 kilogrammes of wood required to cure one kilogramme of tobacco. The estimation of the annual forest woodland clearance per every hectare of tobacco cured was calculated using 0.6 hectares of forest woodland per every hectare factor obtained from literature. Wood consumption increased significantly across all major tobacco producing regions of the country. This was driven by a marked increase in the number of farmers and the size of land put under tobacco across provinces. There was 19% increase in hectarage of forests cleared to cure tobacco which may be linked to the growing shrinkage of forests in the country. Miombowoodlands were major sources of wood fuel due mainly to their high energy value and their ecological dominance within the tobacco farming regions. Despite efforts by the tobacco industry to provide farmers with coal for curing tobacco, small holder farmers continue to use wood fuel with negative impacts on wood resources. There is need for the stakeholders in the tobacco industry to educate farmers and enhance the use of coal, creation of woodlots and adoption of the energy saving technologies. 

Keywords: Tobacco; impact; curing; wood resources; consumption